


The Stolen Gift

by eswriter68



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Comrades, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Love, Mass Effect 3, Romance, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 14:27:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4141227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eswriter68/pseuds/eswriter68
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is Liara standing at the Memorial Wall, alone, late one night, after they have crashed on the planet.  I have always thought that this was the case with regards to her "gift" to Shepard in London. </p><p>The challenge to write this short story, was to write it in a way that does not clearly state whether Shepard is female or male or romantically involved with her.  It does not matter.  In the game she gives the gift no matter what the situation...  unless you refuse it.  I know Liara would do what she felt she needed to do.  Was it for herself?  Or was it for the World?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stolen Gift

The Stolen Gift

I don’t know if you are really gone but I cannot look for you. I feel helpless in my grief. We are trapped here on this planet. Everyone is sleeping but I just needed to talk to you. I need to say words that haunt me, words that I should’ve told you in London but I couldn’t bring myself to say them. 

I think back to when we first met. I was just a child digging in the dirt trying to find relics of a past civilization. You trusted me when no one else did. You were a highly respected war veteran, a soldier, but more than that, you had the charisma and strategic mind that could lead us all to victory. The Alliance knew your value, Cerberus knew it more, but most importantly the Reapers knew it too. They feared you. They tried to stop you...they killed you, and they took away your ship. I... could not accept your fate. I searched for your body until I found you. I had to trust Cerberus, they were the only ones willing to try to save you, to bring you back from death, so that you could save us all.

Cerberus found a way to rebuild you but retain who you were. Even though some questioned your loyalty, you never lost your spirit or your integrity. Although I couldn’t join you, I never stopped trying to help you. I looked out for you in everything you did. I respected your choices even if they did not benefit me. I trusted in you and saw you for who you truly were. You weren’t just a human, you were an exceptional being. You stood for all of us. You united every race and species to fight together, not to take over a world but to preserve all life.

Commander, friend, companion, no matter what you were called, you were our leader. Our lives came together for a greater purpose under you. Every member of this team had their own struggles and their own feelings towards our mission and you. I cannot speak for them. I can only speak for myself. I believed in you. I was drawn to you the moment you saved me on Therum. But that is not all Shepard. I have always loved you, the depth of which you may never fully understood. 

When we landed in London it all became clear to me. It was like playing chess and seeing what you need to do five moves ahead. I knew you would save us somehow, someway, but I didn’t know if you would return to us. I saw a moment, an opportunity, a chance to connect with you and embrace eternity. I told you I wanted to give you a gift, a gift of friendship and a glimpse into myself. I wanted you to feel my love for you even if my words were not there... I know it is hard to understand what happened. 

We had melded our minds before. We did that so I could see what you had seen. This time it was different though. I let you into my mind. I told you it was a gift for you but it was also a gift for me. 

I have cried so many tears, I need to find you again, but know that you are not lost. As the days have passed I have come to understand that you are with us… with me. I know now that what I did worked and that I did what I believed I needed to do. I am preserving your life Shepard, not just in a box to be found if we all perished, but in a life that will be a part of your legacy. I touch my stomach and I know I did the right thing. I know our daughter will be just as special as you are. She will do great things just as you have done. She is the gift I stole from you, and if it was wrong of me... I have no regrets.


End file.
